Experiences of Professional Development and Learning for K-12 English Language Teaching Professionals

It is essential for teachers and leaders to engage in professional development and learning activities that continuously develop their knowledge base of English language teaching. Effective professional development requires thoughtful planning that engages local contexts. The more professional development and learning that teachers engage in, the more likely their students are to succeed and the more likely they are to be effective and fulfilled in their careers. In this article, the term professional development and learning (PDL) is used as a continuing process that should be considered across a teacher’s career. Expanding teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical skills is at the core of many PDL activities, providing opportunities for exploring new ideas, putting them into practice, and reflecting on applications to practice. This article describes two experiences of PDL in collaboration with two school districts in two different states—Colorado and Maryland—in the United States. Both of these experiences focus on supporting their work with a functional approach to language development as school districts around the U.S. are applying this approach as part of the WIDA 2020 English Language Development Standards implementation. Five key guiding principles were used to guide the development of PDL activities with school districts and our continuing collaboration.